Turn 1 - Second Action ResultsReform: Revised Imperial Budget: With an bloated empire, and centuries of records, accurate bookkeeping can become quite challenging. Run a through accounting of the income, rents, tarriffs, land, and other assets coming in, and likewise for expenditures going out. This may help find overlooked incomes, and help reveal corruption and graft.
Decrease Military: Population is power, 7 is still good for military I bet :p
RESULT: [Lucky] The bureaucratic apparatus that runs an empire is like a thick rug, in that it needs to be shaken out every now and again to get rid of the dust. And sometimes when you lift the rug, there's lost change underneath. And/or cockroaches. With the Regent's approval, a gathering of trusted accountants is unleashed upon the bureaucracy. They are zealous and efficient, and after a few months have produced a... well, not a
perfect account of the Empire's finances, but one that is a lot better than what we had.
In the process, a number of corrupt officials were caught red-handed, and a lot of landowners suddenly realised they'd
forgotten to pay their full taxes- a 'mistake' they quickly rectified. As a result, not only do we have a much better idea of what our income is, that income is also higher than it was before the audit.
(+1 Wealth)MANUAL DECLINE: Military: Hey, it's not like we really
need such a big military, right? We can afford to cut back on the number of armies in service.
Turn 2 - Year 4 in the reign of the 77th EmperorTURNTURNTURN [Lucky] Fortunately, the regency has been stable so far. The Regent's supporters eventually stood down, as it became clear there were no imminent challenges to his authority. The Emperor himself is now ten years old, and is being tutored by the greatest scholars in the land in all the important subjects an Emperor needs to know- poetry, calligraphy, sword rituals, Imperial etiquette, etc.
DISASTER: There's a spot of drought in the north of the Empire. A famine seems likely, although it shouldn't be too severe, and the local governors should be able to handle it.
RANDOM DECLINE: Population: An informal census, asking regional governors to estimate the population of their territories, suggests that we don't actually have as many citizens as we thought we did. Not sure how that happened. Well, what's a few million missing people compared to the vast population of the Empire?
The State of the Empire:
Population: 7
Wealth: 8
Military: 7
Technology: 7
Reputation: 7
DISASTER: Drought-caused Famine (Minor): Famine is imminent in the north. Local governors should be able to handle it.
REFORMS:
-Revived Senate (chance to avert civil wars)
-Revised Imperial Budget (makes financial reforms easier)
Choose your first action.